I Will Protect You
by CeruleanWaves11
Summary: Jessie, James and Meowth have received what may well be their final mission. Details are vague, but they know one thing: it's their most dangerous assignment yet, and they're going to need to work together if they want to survive. Intense bonds of love and friendship are their greatest allies-but will they be enough? Rating subject to minor change.
1. Nothing More Than a Dream?

_"Tough times lie ahead, my dear. You won't get through them on your own."_

_"What do you mean? What's going to happen? Mother? Mother?!"_

_"All in due time, Jessica..." The pale silhouette flickered with each word. It began to fade away into the misty atmosphere like a retreating shadow._

_"No! Don't leave me again! Come back, mother! Please!"_

"Jessie!"

_"Mother!"_

"Try again, Jess," spoke a soft voice from above her. Jessie's sapphire eyes snapped open and the image of her long-time partner and best friend came into view, hovering over her with concern.

"Oh, it's just you, James." She pushed herself up into a sitting position in top of her sleeping bag.

"Well good morning to you, too," he said, pouting a little. Jessie laughed at his childish behavior.

"You know I didn't mean it like that." She turned her nose up a little and sampled the air. "Hey, what's that smell?"

He grinned. "Lunch. Well, I guess it's breakfast for you."

"Lunch?" she exclaimed. "What time is it?" Jessie glanced over at the open laptop James had propped up on his blankets. "It's already _ten-thirty_?! Why didn't you get me up earlier?"

James shrugged. "You were tired. It's not like we had anything important today, anyways."

"Since when was our job not 'anything important'?" she questioned irritably, but inside she was kind of grateful for the extra sleep. Not that he needed to know that, though.

"Are you hungry?" he sighed.

"What kind of a question is that?" she asked, grinning and getting up eagerly. "I'm starving!"

The two made their way over to the makeshift fire pit, where burnt branches were still smoking after James had cooked their meal. He handed his partner a plate of warm toast and oatmeal, then served himself and sat down beside her. Meowth mumbled "Mornin', Jess," from across the remains of the campfire. He was looking awfully ragged that morning, but she decided not to question it.

James cleared his throat softly, causing the red-head to glance over at him. "Yes?" she asked.

Proceeding lightly, he asked, "I was just wondering if you'd like to talk about whatever's bothering you." When she looked at him questioningly, he whispered, "You had the dream again last night."

Jessie sat rigidly upright. Though she never remembered this recurring dream, James had to wake her up in the middle of the night several times in the past few weeks because she was screaming and shouting so loud that he'd thought she was being attacked. It had gotten to the point where he planned his nights around it; going to bed an hour or so early to make up for when he was sitting awake at two-thirty in the morning, keeping a watchful eye on his partner until dawn to make sure she was alright.

"I...I don't remember anything," she replied honestly. James gave her a sympathetic look. He knew how much it was bothering her that she could never recall anything from the dream. The frustration was clearly visible, and one of her fists slowly clenched and unclenched as she searched her mind for anything relating to the dream-a word, an image, anything at all that might give a clue on what it was about. But her search was fruitless, as it always was.

"You were calling for your mom this time," he added. Perhaps bringing up the late ex-Rocket and Jessie's mother was not the best thing to do, but he figured that it might spark a memory of some sort.

Jessie's bright eyes closed, and she sighed. "Not a thing," she breathed. "You'd think that I'd remember _something_, but _no._ Pathetic, isn't it, James? "

"What are you-?"

"Every time, it's the same thing. I wake up in cold sweats and I'm shaking, but I have absolutely no memory of it. Maybe I'm just insane."

"I'll say..." Meowth piped. James knew the cat was just trying to clear the air, but he shook his head softly to indicate that now was not the time.

"C'mon, Jessie, you know that's not true. It's not your fault that you can't remember, so stop beating yourself up over it," he stated, rather demandingly.

Surprised by the intensity of his voice, Jessie's eyes widened momentarily and she nodded. "You're right. No sense in getting hung up over this," she said, more to herself than him. "Who knows? It might not even mean anything. We could be getting worked up over nothing."

James was doubtful about that, but he offered a reassuring agreement nonetheless. The following silence prompted him to get up and start packing up their bags and such so they'd be ready to move camp soon. Meowth got up to help him as well, leaving Jessie to finish her meal and roll things over in her mind. _So it was mom this time...Or was it her the whole time? I miss her so much...so why can't I remember?!_ "Damn it!" she cried out in exasperation. She laid her face in her hands as a few rogue tears made their way down her face. Embarrassed at what she thought was childish weakness that she so loathed, she didn't look up when she felt a comforting hand on her back. But when she felt herself pulled into a loving embrace, she lifted her slightly red-tinged eyes to meet the deep green ones of her best friend, who was now gently rocking her as they sat on the ground. She noticed that Meowth was also seated near her, placing a paw on her leg in a show of support. "I'm sorry," she murmured. "I'm acting like a kid."

"No, Jess, it's alright," he soothed, running a gentle hand down the back of her head. Jessie felt incredibly embarrassed at having to be consoled like a child, but she fought the urge to run off like she would have liked to, because it would only seem even more immature.

"I hate ta interrupt yous, but ain't that your laptop ringing, Jim?" Meowth inquired. James's head snapped up, wondering who would be calling them now. He had a gut feeling that whatever it was wasn't going to be pleasant, so he told his partners to stay back and let him handle it himself.

His spirits sank further when he read the caller's ID. It was that dreaded call that the team had been anticipating with bated breath for a while now. The stoic face of their boss appeared on the screen. "Good afternoon, sir," James greeted, hoping he sounded as confident as he used to in the presence of their superior.

"Where are the others, James?" Giovanni demanded rather than asked. "Are they with you?"

Quickly coming up with a believable alibi, the lavender-haired man replied, "Jessie and Meowth are gathering supplies for our next move, sir."

The elder man nodded. "I see." He fixed a penetrating stare on James, who was now certainly wishing that he had not solely volunteered to handle the boss's call alone. "Then please do inform them that you three are to report to the Nimbasa headquarters immediately."

"Yes, sir," he replied, bowing his head.

"That will be all." Giovanni then abruptly ended the call and James let out a massive breath. He could feel the curious gazes of his partners on his back, but he was reluctant to give them the depressing news.

Jessie spoke up first. "Who was it, James?"

He glanced uneasily her way. "...The boss. Says he wants us at Nimbasa headquarters ASAP." Both Jessie and Meowth's faces fell. Sullenly, all three grabbed their bags and loaded the Meowth balloon. It was a long and silent two hour trip from Lostlorn Forest to Nimbasa City across the bright summer sky, the sun's radiance in stark contrast to the mood within the balloon.


	2. Photograph

James

It can't be hidden hearing devices, can it? Maybe our uniforms are bugged. I can't think of anything else that could explain the boss's perfect timing- and by perfect, I mean that he really couldn't have called at a _worse_ time. All I can think right now is that I'm terrified, but what's worse is that Jessie has got to be feeling a million times more awful than I am. She's standing next to me as our balloon touches down in a clearing just outside of the city, and I can still see the glistening of unshed tears in her sapphire eyes.

Jessie and I are in tune with each other, like we posses some sixth sense that makes us perceptive to whatever the other is feeling. I notice everything, from the subtle way her hands shake as we push open the clouded glass doors to the bar that houses the entrance to headquarters, to the way she walks next to me with the side of her long gloves barely brushing mine-it's one of the little ways she eases her nerves, and it makes me feel a little better, too, knowing she's right there next to me.

There's only one other person in the bar, a burly man standing behind the counter that I can tell is the man we're supposed to talk to. He eyes us up with unnerving bicolor eyes as we stride over to him. "I'll have a cappuccino," I tell him. Had anyone else been there at the time, they'd have thought me to be already drunk, ordering coffee at a place like this, but the man understood my message. He leads us to the storage room, a cramped and musty-smelling place that appears as if it hasn't been cleaned in ages. He shoves aside a mound of empty boxes piled against one wall, revealing a rusty metal door. I hand the man some change, and the three of us proceed down the dark and narrow hallway beyond the door.

When we finally reach the end of the long stretch, we're presented with yet another door, this time locked with a key-card lock. I fumble around in my pocket for a minute until I find my Rocket pass card. I feel Meowth and Jessie looking at me expectantly as I slide it through the terminal.

What awaits us on the other side is a brightly lit lobby, buzzing with activity that you wouldn't expect in a secret underground facility. Dozens of other Rockets rush in and out of the many doors and hallways leading out of the room as we head over to the receptionist's desk.

I cleared my throat loud enough to get the emerald-haired woman's attention. She looked up at me with annoyance clearly written all over her face, and fatigue hanging in the air around her. No job in Team Rocket is easy. "James, Jessie and Meowth, here to see the boss," I tell her. The receptionist's eyes seemed to waver for a minute; if it weren't for the sake of my mental health, I would've probably diagnosed the look she gave me as pity- but I had no time to ponder her fleeting expression, because the moment she announced our arrival to the boss via his personal intercom, his booming voice returned through the small desktop speaker for us to come to his office _immediately_.

**...**

The three of us stared at that ominous door, and it stared right back. Jessie, being the self-appointed leader of the group, finally placed a tentative hand on the cold metal handle and pulled it open. The instant we stepped inside the minimally-furnished office, the boss started barking commands.

"Sit down. _Now._" I was silently praying to all the legendaries that his anger was intended for the next unfortunate team having audience with him as I hastily sat down in one of the two wooden chairs parallel to his giant mahogany desk. Jessie sat herself in the other chair beside me while Meowth crept up into my lap. He was shaking horribly, but so was I.

"Jessie, James, Meowth; it's been some time since I've last seen you, hasn't it?" He spoke with a dangerously calm tone that scared me more than if he was yelling.

"Yes, sir," we replied in unison.

"And how have things been going for you?" His grin was sickening. He obviously knew that we'd been failing miserably ever since our return to the region, so what was he getting at by asking? Whatever his angle was, I knew it couldn't be good.

"Well…they could be better, I suppose."

The boss rubbed his chin in thought. "Indeed they could."

"Sir, if I may-" Jessie stopped short when Giovanni's gaze turned to her. I couldn't stand the way his eyes took her in hungrily.

"Yes, Jessie? Do you have something to share?"

"I-uh, I mean, no, sir."

Giovanni let out a short laugh. "Good. I'd like to get down to why I brought you three here today." After giving us each another once-over, he continued. "You have demonstrated your competence for executing missions to me in recent events. Why you have suddenly lost that ability now, I don't know, and don't care what excuses you may have." A feeling like fingernails scraping down my back responded to the cold edge in his voice. "I'm presenting your team with a choice, right now, which will determine whether your futures lie in this organization or not. A final mission has been prepared for you three. If you are able to complete it without fail, I will overlook your previous inadequacies. However, this assignment won't be easy, I can assure. Whether or not you come back alive will depend entirely on yourselves." He looked at me pointedly before proceeding. "Since it's against this team's policy to force employees on Class 1 missions, I have one alternative option for you."

I knew from experience that 'alternative' didn't necessarily mean 'better'.

"You could choose to leave the team, for good, if you'd prefer."

Not a good start. "It's not that easy, is it, though?" Jessie asked. We'd definitely been here too long; her temper always starts to flare when she gets defensive. Things were going to go downhill, and _fast_, if this meeting wasn't over with soon.

"You're a sharp one, Jessica," the boss chuckled. "No, it's not that easy. Of course, you'd be monitored, for security purposes."

"And?" she pressed. I squeezed her hand discreetly at our sides. _Calm down, Jess._ She glared at me.

"There _is_ one more condition. If you decide to leave the team," he paused momentarily as we clung to his words, "all three of you will not be permitted to see each other again."

**…**

Jessie's sharp manicured nails dug fiercely into the back of my hand. "We'll take the mission," she declared, without a moment's hesitation. Meowth trembled in my lap, but nodded timidly in affirmation, as did I.

A smugly satisfied look spread across the older man's face. "Are you sure you don't want to think this over a bit more, Jessica? I don't want you to feel pressured into-"

"_I said, we'll take the mission_." She cut him off before he could finish, now leaning over the edge of the boss's desk. "Now just _hurry _and tell is what it is!" I guided her back down into her seat with a hand on her shoulder, but she was still just barely sitting, ready to spring back up again at the slightest provocation.

"Very well." The boss reached inside the large top drawer of his massive worktable, and produced a small piece of paper from inside. With a still-present simper, he slid the item across the desk to Jessie. She looked confused for a moment as she timidly reached for it. Her expression wavered quickly though, changing from confusion to an indescribable emotion that even I couldn't define until a strangled shriek escaped her lips. With trembling hands, she slammed it down-I could now tell that it was a photograph-and buried her face in her hands, but refusing to cry. Terrified, I picked the photo up and scanned over the grainy image. A few things jumped out at me: splashes of white, purple, and pink. It wasn't until I noticed the blurry but recognizable Team Rocket logo, framed in black, that I knew what exactly the boss had assigned us.

Please review; let me know what you all think! Expect the next chapter shortly.

Also, I apologize for any confusion with the hyphens. FF hasn't been working right with them, so I've tried my best to make them clearer. I'm sorry if I missed any.


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